Anonymous
Post 01/13/2026 08:49     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
At the start of the US News and World Reports rankings in the 80s, UChicago and Columbia both accepted 50%, so a coin toss. Harvard and Yale were about 20-25%. The above chip shot needs to be put in context. Now all those schools are <4% admit.
Anonymous
Post 01/13/2026 08:21     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
The year I graduated HS Chicago accepted 71% of applicants.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 23:17     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Chicago is the one top15 school that will take kids down to the 50% percentile from top privates. It is also a very, very reliable bet for kids in the top 20% at these same high schools. As such, many kids from these privates will ED1/SCEA an Ivy or other top15 school and then if they don't get in they will ED2 Chicago.

As such, it gets a reputation as a safety school of sorts at these high schools. The gild is off the lily. Few kids get excited by Chicago.

Everyone agrees that it is a fantastic school but it's not one that kids from certain privates get excited by. Also in part because so many kids attend it. At these privates, up to 10% of the class will end up matriculating there.


this is true at our HS. it's the "smart ED bet" and not their dream school. the smart bet often comes from the parent fwiw


And this is NOT true at our (private) HS. The UChicago admits were all top 10 percent of graduating class. All of them self-selected into applying to UChicago. (The school sends about 20-25 percent of its class to Ivy Plus schools).

Of course they “self-selected” into applying; that’s what ED is.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 23:14     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is in one of the most dangerous areas in the United States. Most lower level and mid level classes are taught by TAs. Professors are indifferent and care less about undergraduates. They pander to dull pedantic intellectuals who contribute very little to society. The quarter system is archaic and prevents many capable students to compete for high level internships and jobs due to recruiting schedule conflicts. Students have been killed off campus in numbers far underreported and would give any parent pause. It is USC in a worst neighborhood with no upside of the So Cal weather, and lifestyle without the fun. Not to mention the famous stars and radicals of Hyde Park. Let the fascist left well enough alone.


You clearly know nothing about UChicago. My first year has not had a single TA teach a class first or second quarter and has had great professors thus far. And kids are not being killed off campus. It’s fine if you don’t like the school, but don’t make crap up.

So, tell me, why did you ED?
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 22:57     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is in one of the most dangerous areas in the United States. Most lower level and mid level classes are taught by TAs. Professors are indifferent and care less about undergraduates. They pander to dull pedantic intellectuals who contribute very little to society. The quarter system is archaic and prevents many capable students to compete for high level internships and jobs due to recruiting schedule conflicts. Students have been killed off campus in numbers far underreported and would give any parent pause. It is USC in a worst neighborhood with no upside of the So Cal weather, and lifestyle without the fun. Not to mention the famous stars and radicals of Hyde Park. Let the fascist left well enough alone.


You clearly know nothing about UChicago. My first year has not had a single TA teach a class first or second quarter and has had great professors thus far. And kids are not being killed off campus. It’s fine if you don’t like the school, but don’t make crap up.


Yes totally agree. I don’t get the UChicago bashing. And to compare with usc is ridiculous. UChicago is a top 10 school (has been for decades).


+1. Most people bash it purely out of frustration––either with how their children didn't want to commit to ED and now face tiny admission rates, or with their own alma maters. And UChicago has only become focused on ED pools due to being behind other elite universities in terms of "gaming the rankings." All colleges do it, their peer schools just figured it out much quicker.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 22:33     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is in one of the most dangerous areas in the United States. Most lower level and mid level classes are taught by TAs. Professors are indifferent and care less about undergraduates. They pander to dull pedantic intellectuals who contribute very little to society. The quarter system is archaic and prevents many capable students to compete for high level internships and jobs due to recruiting schedule conflicts. Students have been killed off campus in numbers far underreported and would give any parent pause. It is USC in a worst neighborhood with no upside of the So Cal weather, and lifestyle without the fun. Not to mention the famous stars and radicals of Hyde Park. Let the fascist left well enough alone.


You clearly know nothing about UChicago. My first year has not had a single TA teach a class first or second quarter and has had great professors thus far. And kids are not being killed off campus. It’s fine if you don’t like the school, but don’t make crap up.


Yes totally agree. I don’t get the UChicago bashing. And to compare with usc is ridiculous. UChicago is a top 10 school (has been for decades).
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 21:17     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:It is in one of the most dangerous areas in the United States. Most lower level and mid level classes are taught by TAs. Professors are indifferent and care less about undergraduates. They pander to dull pedantic intellectuals who contribute very little to society. The quarter system is archaic and prevents many capable students to compete for high level internships and jobs due to recruiting schedule conflicts. Students have been killed off campus in numbers far underreported and would give any parent pause. It is USC in a worst neighborhood with no upside of the So Cal weather, and lifestyle without the fun. Not to mention the famous stars and radicals of Hyde Park. Let the fascist left well enough alone.


You clearly know nothing about UChicago. My first year has not had a single TA teach a class first or second quarter and has had great professors thus far. And kids are not being killed off campus. It’s fine if you don’t like the school, but don’t make crap up.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 20:12     Subject: Re:Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:Back in my day, Chicago was the place that smart intellectual kids with top SAT scores but light ECs went. Even farther back it was one of the few places that didn’t have a quota for Jewish students (my phd supervisor went there undergrad, before he went to Oxford and then Harvard for PhD). It was not as selective as Ivies (or as it is now), but its graduates have always been highly respected among academics and professionals. My spouse went to Chicago, I went to HYP; thanks to the core and Chicago’s academic rigor they got the better education, no question. I’m not sure what to make of what I read here about Chicago—their ED/admissions policies certainly seem to be a bit mercenary, and the deficits are worrying. But has the education actually declined, I’m just not sure. Chicago is a rigorous school and the core is no joke; a Chicago transcript with a top GPA means more than an inflated transcript from many Ivies where grad schools and employers just have no idea what they are getting. For reasons unrelated to prestige DC was not interested in Chicago so I have not done a deep dive into the current state of things, and I have no dog in this fight. But reputations are sticky, as the economists might say, and while Chicago might be perceived as a relatively easier admit in super-elite prep school bubbles right now, I can assure you that a Chicago degree carries prestige in academic and professional circles, and this is also true for those who graduated when it was much much less selective.


This is true. Many Brown/ Columbia/Upenn students fear that at Uchicago their pretensions to smartness will come undone and that would shatter them. So no go. They would rather glide by in (most) Ivies and keep their self esteem intact… Oh well.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 20:01     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
The UChicago core curriculum is the epitome of liberal arts education. The quarter system allows students to double/triple major and explore their interdisciplinary interests.

For my kid, UChicago has always been the dream school. And yes, I am pretty sure DC (top 10 percent in private school, 1590 SAT, 4.0uw, higher rigor, NMSF, strong ECs) would have been competitive at other T10 schools. But the self-selection into UChicago is still happening, at least for some kids.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:55     Subject: Re:Why all the Chicago bashing?
Back in my day, Chicago was the place that smart intellectual kids with top SAT scores but light ECs went. Even farther back it was one of the few places that didn’t have a quota for Jewish students (my phd supervisor went there undergrad, before he went to Oxford and then Harvard for PhD). It was not as selective as Ivies (or as it is now), but its graduates have always been highly respected among academics and professionals. My spouse went to Chicago, I went to HYP; thanks to the core and Chicago’s academic rigor they got the better education, no question. I’m not sure what to make of what I read here about Chicago—their ED/admissions policies certainly seem to be a bit mercenary, and the deficits are worrying. But has the education actually declined, I’m just not sure. Chicago is a rigorous school and the core is no joke; a Chicago transcript with a top GPA means more than an inflated transcript from many Ivies where grad schools and employers just have no idea what they are getting. For reasons unrelated to prestige DC was not interested in Chicago so I have not done a deep dive into the current state of things, and I have no dog in this fight. But reputations are sticky, as the economists might say, and while Chicago might be perceived as a relatively easier admit in super-elite prep school bubbles right now, I can assure you that a Chicago degree carries prestige in academic and professional circles, and this is also true for those who graduated when it was much much less selective.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:53     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Chicago is the one top15 school that will take kids down to the 50% percentile from top privates. It is also a very, very reliable bet for kids in the top 20% at these same high schools. As such, many kids from these privates will ED1/SCEA an Ivy or other top15 school and then if they don't get in they will ED2 Chicago.

As such, it gets a reputation as a safety school of sorts at these high schools. The gild is off the lily. Few kids get excited by Chicago.

Everyone agrees that it is a fantastic school but it's not one that kids from certain privates get excited by. Also in part because so many kids attend it. At these privates, up to 10% of the class will end up matriculating there.


this is true at our HS. it's the "smart ED bet" and not their dream school. the smart bet often comes from the parent fwiw


And this is NOT true at our (private) HS. The UChicago admits were all top 10 percent of graduating class. All of them self-selected into applying to UChicago. (The school sends about 20-25 percent of its class to Ivy Plus schools).


Just to add that in addition to being top 10 percent, all three students were NMSF and had ACTs of 35-36. It’s easy to see that on Scoir.


Of course, the relaxed standards don't apply to every private. But they 100% do at certain privates including a few in the DMV. I don't know why Chicago favors certain schools year-over-year but they do. If you attend one your kids view it as a back-up for top kids and a reasonable choice for kids under the top 20% in the class.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:52     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:It is in one of the most dangerous areas in the United States. Most lower level and mid level classes are taught by TAs. Professors are indifferent and care less about undergraduates. They pander to dull pedantic intellectuals who contribute very little to society. The quarter system is archaic and prevents many capable students to compete for high level internships and jobs due to recruiting schedule conflicts. Students have been killed off campus in numbers far underreported and would give any parent pause. It is USC in a worst neighborhood with no upside of the So Cal weather, and lifestyle without the fun. Not to mention the famous stars and radicals of Hyde Park. Let the fascist left well enough alone.

Sounds fun. I think crime hype in 2026 is an actual joke. Go look at 80s ny if you want a city with real issues. Most Uchicago students are living an amazing lifestyle near a great major city with good professors. If you don’t like TAs, maybe a university isn’t for you and it’s time to look at LACs, just don’t complain when you have 1/100 the options to do anything.

Uchicago is great and you are in control of the value of your degree.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:51     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Private school students love Chicago because Chicago admits them in huge numbers.

Public school students are very rarely admitted, and therefore tend to resent the time and ED opportunities wasted on the school.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:50     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Chicago is the one top15 school that will take kids down to the 50% percentile from top privates. It is also a very, very reliable bet for kids in the top 20% at these same high schools. As such, many kids from these privates will ED1/SCEA an Ivy or other top15 school and then if they don't get in they will ED2 Chicago.

As such, it gets a reputation as a safety school of sorts at these high schools. The gild is off the lily. Few kids get excited by Chicago.

Everyone agrees that it is a fantastic school but it's not one that kids from certain privates get excited by. Also in part because so many kids attend it. At these privates, up to 10% of the class will end up matriculating there.


this is true at our HS. it's the "smart ED bet" and not their dream school. the smart bet often comes from the parent fwiw


And this is NOT true at our (private) HS. The UChicago admits were all top 10 percent of graduating class. All of them self-selected into applying to UChicago. (The school sends about 20-25 percent of its class to Ivy Plus schools).


Just to add that in addition to being top 10 percent, all three students were NMSF and had ACTs of 35-36. It’s easy to see that on Scoir.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:48     Subject: Why all the Chicago bashing?
John D. Rockefeller would be rolling his eyes if read this crap. School lost its way.